The Crow Family

The blog of an Army Reserve wife who shares her thought and feelings about experiencing multiple deployments.

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About Jessica & her Blog

Jessica is a winner of Top 25 Military Moms - 2013

What's a tip for celebrating a holiday or milestone with your kids when your partner isn't able to be there?

There is no doubt that celebrating a holiday, birthday, or other milestone while your spouse is deployed is incredibly hard for everyone. When it is possible, and the internet cooperates, I try to make sure that my husband can join in the celebration via the webcam. It helps him to see what is going on and allows our children to share their excitement with daddy too. I also make sure to pick up an extra gift that is especially from daddy. Nothing fancy, just a little something from daddy. Example: For my daughter's dance recital that my husband could not be at, I had a special doll dressed like a ballerina that was just from daddy. That little extra was just what she needed. We also try to have cards ready for birthdays and such before my husband deploys so that I can give those to the kids.

What have you learned about parenting from living in different places?

We are an Army Reserve family, so unlike most military families we do not move to different duty stations. Parenting is definitely a learning process no matter where you live.

What are your best tips for traveling with kids?

Tips for traveling with kids:
1. Have a bag of snacks and drinks in the car
2. Pack each kid a bag with items that would be interesting to them: books, crayons, paper, cards. etc.
3. Give each child a map with your destination on it and them follow along the map
4. Make the trip an adventure. Like a scavenger hunt in the car. Give the kids a list of things to search for and the first one to spot all the items gets a special prize.